DOCSLIB.ORG

Tales from the Wood

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Tales from the Wood Tales from The Wood Role playing Game Simon Washbourne CREDITS Initial concept © 2005 by Simon Washbourne & Mark George All rights reserved. Game design, development, editing, & layout Simon Washbourne Artwork Cover: Gill Pearce Interior: Simon Washbourne, Gill Pearce, Helen Roberts & Val Bertin Thanks to all the play testers Annette Washbourne, Nigel Uzzell, Janine Uzzell, Alyson George, Robert Watkins, Rob- ert Irwin, Gary Collett, Leigh Wakefield, Phil Chivers, Phil Ratcliffe and members of Innsworth Wargames and Role Playing United Kingdom (IWARPUK) Recommended Fiction William Horwood; Duncton Wood, Duncton Quest, Duncton Found, Duncton Tales, Duncton Rising, Duncton Stone (moles) Gerry Kilworth; Frost Dancers (hares), Hunters Moon (foxes) A.R. Lloyd; Marshworld, Witchwood, Dragon Pond (weasels) Denys Watkins Pitchford (B.B); Little Grey Men, Down the Bright Stream (gnomes) Chris Freddi; Pork & other tales (several different types of animal) Michael Tod; The Silver Tide, The Second Wave, The Golden Flight (squirrels) Richard Adams; Watership Down (rabbits) Aeron Clement; The Cold Moons (badgers) Brian Carter; Night World (badgers) Colin Dann; The Animals of Farthing Wood, In the Grip of Winter, Fox's Feud, Fox Cub Bold, The Siege of White Deer Park, In the Path of Storm, Battle for the Park, Farthing Wood - The Adventure Begins (several different types of animal) Recommended Non-Fiction Any good natural history books would be highly useful, but these are some of those con- sulted when designing Tales from The Wood. Ron Freethy; Man & Beast, British mammals Tony Soper; Discovering Animals, British mammals Roy Brown; Wildlife of Britain, British animals Rob Hume; Observers Birds, British birds More great games from Beyond Belief Games It’s a Dog’s Life (2nd Edition) - The greatest prairie dog RPG ever! The Medieval Mysteries RPG - solving crimes in the middle ages Go Fer Yer Gun! - „Old school‟ Wild West role-playing Lashings of Ginger Beer - Nosey kids in Idyllic England ii Contents I INTRODUCTION 1 Map of The Wood 6 II CREATING A PLAYER CREATURE 7 III WHAT ARE THE CREATURES LIKE? 17 V USING ABILITIES, LORES & SKILLS 25 V TOOTH & CLAW 29 VI THE WAY AND THE BANE 34 VII THE GAMEKEEPER 38 VIII GAMEKEEPER CREATURES 47 IX THREE TALES (FROM THE WOOD) 62 Oakfellow & the Gypsies 62 Along the Riverbank 67 Wolf‟s Bane 76 1 INTRODUCTION The Wood – a place where animals live, love, fight …...and die. What is a role-playing game? I would imagine that if you bought this product, you already know what a roleplaying game is and what role-playing is all about. If you haven‟t roleplayed before, then I am honoured that you chose Tales from The Wood (TfTW) to be your first. Roleplaying means different things to different people. At its heart it is a combination of storytelling, improvisational theatre, a game of make-believe or even a tactical wargame. Some role-playing games emphasize one aspect more than another and in some one or more aspects are virtually absent. TfTW is mainly a game of storytelling and make- believe. One thing that is essentially true is that all players except one take the role of a character in the game and, within the framework of the game, play the role of their characters by narrating and describing what they are doing in response to what is going on within the story. One player has a different role and is called The Gamekeeper (GK). We‟ll come back to that later. 1 TALES FROM THE WOOD What is Tales from The Wood? TfTW is what you and your players want it to be. It is a framework of rules for building your own fantasy story of adventure, fun, tragedy and excitement. Whether you choose to tell a tale of epic quests, great journeys and grand adventure or whether you prefer to weave a story based on relationships and the love of home and family, these rules will help you to do that. However, there is the backdrop of The Wood that will permeate all of your tales and all of the stories you tell will ultimately be affected by The Wood and its many inhabitants. What do you need to play? You need some players and a place to play. The former is easy, just grab a few friends and tell them about this great game you just found. The next may not be as easy, but as long as you have a room and places to sit and be comfortable, you are away. Next you need dice (TfTW uses ten-sided and six-sided dice called d10 and d6 respective- ly), preferably one of each type for each player, and a photocopy of the character sheet for each player. Finally, you need pencils and probably erasers too. Oh, don‟t forget a few drinks and snacks. The player’s role TfTW is an unusual role-playing game. It takes its inspiration from animal stories, like Watership Down and Duncton Wood, so the characters in this game are all animals. You are therefore playing the roles of creatures that can typically be found in and around the British woodland; animals such as Mouse, Rabbit, Vole, Squirrel and Hedgehog. You need to come up with some interesting characters drawn from the thirteen species of animal available to you, called the Creatures of The Way. Through your characters, you must live your lives in The Wood, react to things that happen to you and your friends and, for the length of the game session, play the role of the characters you are portraying. Remember that you are helping to create a Tale. This is a co-operative thing. There are no winners and losers. The better you respect each other‟s characters and their part in the overall Tale, the better the game experience will be. Even the Gamekeeper is your friend in this, although her role is different to yours. It may seem like she is trying to „get‟ you, but that‟s not the case. She is trying to create scenes that will engage you and keep your interest and sometimes these will threaten you or scare you. Occasionally there will be a tragedy too, but this is normally only with the player‟s blessing and where it helps to weave an interesting and exciting Tale. It may seem difficult to know how to play the role of a mouse or a frog or whatever. However, we have found in play testing that generally players will pick a creature that 2 INTRODUCTION they already have some knowledge of and that often helps to define the way that they play their characters. There is some help for you later on in these rules but it is certainly recommended that you are familiar with at least one of the novels listed at the end of this publication. The creatures do have their own individual abilities - Mouse for example is extremely acrobatic, Hedgehog is tough and good in a fight, Mole can dig tunnels etc. and this helps you to get a „handle‟ on your character. That doesn‟t mean that all rabbits have to cower away and all hedgehogs have to be awkward and stupid. You can put whatever personality on your character that you like and an aggressive rabbit or wise old hedgehog would be great fun to play. The Gamekeeper’s role The game is coordinated by one of the players who has a different role to play in the game. She is usually referred to in games of this type as the Gamesmaster or referee. In keeping with the setting the referee in TfTW is called the Gamekeeper (GK). The GK has to spend time prior to an evenings‟ gaming preparing the adventure or scenario, called The Tale, deciding beforehand what the PC‟s are trying to achieve and deciding what obsta- cles and help they will have along the way, be they natural, Man-made, of The Bane, or other creatures. The GK will also play the role of any creatures the PC‟s meet whether they are friendly, neutral or otherwise. Whilst the GK may have set very clear goals for the players, the way they reach those goals may differ radically from those the GK had in mind. The GK therefore needs to be flexible and ready to ad-lib, or change direction partway through the Tale if the players start to do things that she hadn‟t accounted for or written down (rest assured, they will). The players can always be steered back on course further along the line later on in the game if needs be. It is all part of the GK‟s responsibilities to be flexible enough to see what the PC‟s want to do and adapt her version of the Tale according to the player‟s wish- es. At the end of the day, whilst the Tale is important, it is not as important as the characters who are telling it. The role of the dice Most of the actions performed by player-creatures (PC‟s) in TfTW are normal everyday activities where the players simply tells the GK what their characters intend to do and the GK simply relates to the players what happens as a result. However, because life in The Wood is not always that simple there will be times when the GK will call for a dice to be rolled to determine whether an intended action was successful or not. This is often the case when external conditions could affect the outcome of what seemed to be a simple task, or when another creature is trying to stop the PC from succeeding.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Aeneid with Rabbits
    The Aeneid with Rabbits: Children's Fantasy as Modern Epic by Hannah Parry A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Victoria University of Wellington 2016 Acknowledgements Sincere thanks are owed to Geoff Miles and Harry Ricketts, for their insightful supervision of this thesis. Thanks to Geoff also for his previous supervision of my MA thesis and of the 489 Research Paper which began my academic interest in tracking modern fantasy back to classical epic. He must be thoroughly sick of reading drafts of my writing by now, but has never once showed it, and has always been helpful, enthusiastic and kind. For talking to me about Tolkien, Old English and Old Norse, lending me a whole box of books, and inviting me to spend countless Wednesday evenings at their house with the Norse Reading Group, I would like to thank Christine Franzen and Robert Easting. I'd also like to thank the English department staff and postgraduates of Victoria University of Wellington, for their interest and support throughout, and for being some of the nicest people it has been my privilege to meet. Victoria University of Wellington provided financial support for this thesis through the Victoria University Doctoral Scholarship, for which I am very grateful. For access to letters, notebooks and manuscripts pertaining to Rosemary Sutcliff, Philip Pullman, and C.S. Lewis, I would like to thank the Seven Stories National Centre for Children's Books in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Oxford University. Finally, thanks to my parents, William and Lynette Parry, for fostering my love of books, and to my sister, Sarah Parry, for her patience, intelligence, insight, and many terrific conversations about all things literary and fantastical.
    [Show full text]
  • A Symphonic Discussion of the Animal in Richard Adams' Watership Down
    Centre for Languages and Literature English Studies A Symphonic Discussion of the Animal in Richard Adams’ Watership Down Elisabeth Kynaston ENGX54 Degree project in English Literature Spring 2020 Centre for Languages and Literature Lund University Supervisor: Cecilia Wadsö-Lecaros Abstract The purpose of this essay is to suggest a new reading of Richard Adams’ Watership Down (1972) by adopting the recently new discipline of Animal Studies. Adams follows a long tradition of talking animals in literature, which still to this day, is an important part of the English literary canon. Throughout this essay, I shall focus on several aspects of the novel. I will look at the anthropomorphized animals and examine how the animals are portrayed in the text. I will seek to offer a structural analysis of Adams’ novel using the structure of the symphony. The essay offers a background discussion of Animal Studies as a theoretical discipline. In addition, the background will provide the reader with a description of how and why the structure of the symphony can function as a method to analyse Adams’ novel. The analysis has been divided into five parts where Jakob von Uexküll’s and Mario Ortiz-Robles’ research will serve as a basis for my discussion as I seek to provide a deeper understanding of how our perception of the animal in literature affects our idea of the animal in our human society. Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Background 3. First Movement – The Journey 1. Theme One – “Nature/Rabbit” 2. Theme Two – The Human 3. The Rabbit as a Subject 4.
    [Show full text]
  • FANTASY GAMES and SOCIAL WORLDS Simulation As Leisure
    >> Version of Record - Sep 1, 1981 What is This? Downloaded from sag.sagepub.com at SAGE Publications on December 8, 2012 FANTASY GAMES AND SOCIAL WORLDS Simulation as Leisure GARY ALAN FINE University of Minnesota As the longevity and success of this journal attest, simulation games have had a considerable impact on the scholarly commun- ity, spawning cottage industries and academic specialties. Simu- lation gaming is now well established as a legitimate academic pursuit and teaching tool. Simultaneous with the growth of educational games, the 1970s witnessed the development and popularity of other role-playing games, essentially simulations, which have enjoyment and fantasy as their major goals. These games are known generically as fantasy role-playing games. My intent in this article is to describe the games, discuss the relationship of these games to similar activities (including educational simulations), describe the players, and examine their reasons for participating in this social world. By studying these play forms, researchers who specialize in educational simulations can observe parallels in this leisure activity. AUTHOR’S NOTE: The author would like to thank Sherryl Kleinman and Linda Hughes for comments on previous drafts of this article. SIMULATION ~c GAMES, Vol. 12 No. 3, September I981 251-279 @ 1981 Sage Pubhcations, Inc. 251 Downloaded from sag.sagepub.com at SAGE Publications on December 8, 2012 252 WHAT IS FANTASY ROLE-PLAY GAMING? A &dquo;[fantasy] role-playing game&dquo; has been defined as &dquo;any game which allows a number of players to assume the roles of imaginary characters and operate with some degree of freedom in an imaginary environment&dquo; (Lortz, 1979b: 36).
    [Show full text]
  • Enrichment Reading (Pdf)
    1 Enrichment Reading 2015 Adams, Douglas. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In this collection of novels, Arthur Dent is introduced to the galaxy at large when he is rescued by an alien friend seconds before Earth's destruction and embarks on a series of amazing adventures. Adams, Richard. Watership Down. “Set in England's Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage, and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of brothers, they journey forth from their native Sandleford Warren through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society.” Alexander, Kwame. The Crossover. Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health. Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. “One of the most universally loved and admired English novels, Pride and Prejudice was penned as a popular entertainment, but the consummate artistry of Jane Austen (1775–1817) transformed this effervescent tale of rural romance into a witty, shrewdly observed satire of English country life that is now regarded as one of the principal treasures of English language. In a remote Hertfordshire village, far off the good coach roads of George III's England, a country squire of no great means must marry off his five vivacious daughters. At the heart of this all- consuming enterprise are his headstrong second daughter Elizabeth Bennet and her aristocratic suitor Fitzwilliam Darcy — two lovers whose pride must be humbled and prejudices dissolved before the novel can come to its splendid conclusion.” Barrow, Randi.
    [Show full text]
  • Richard Adams 6.2 the Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe
    AR How did it make you feel? Star Rating Watership Down - Richard Adams 6.2 The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe - CS Lewis 5.7 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson-Burnett 3.6 Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson 8.3 Black Beauty - Anna Sewell 7.7 AR How did it make you feel? Star Rating Kensuke’s Kingdom - Michael Morpurgo 4.7 Lord of the Flies - William Golding 5.0 How to Train Your Dragon - Cressida Cowell 6.7 AR How did it make you feel? Star Rating Keeper - Mal Peet 5.1 The Kick Off - Dan Freedman 4.9 AR How did it make you feel? Star Rating The Hound of the Baskervilles - Arthur Conan Doyle 8.3 Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie 6.2 Thief Lord - Cornelia Funke 4.8 AR How did it make you feel? Star Rating The Woman in Black - Susan Hill 7.2 Twilight - Stephanie Meyer 4.9 AR How did it make you feel? Star Rating The Owl Service - Alan Garner 3.7 King of the Middle March - Kevin Crossley-Holland 4.2 AR How did it make you feel? Star Rating Wonder - RJ Palacio 4.8 Holes - Louis Sachar (pronounced ‘sacker’) 4.6 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon 5.4 AR How did it make you feel? Star Rating Noughts & Crosses - Malorie Blackman 4.0 AR How did it make you feel? Star Rating The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne 5.8 War Horse - Michael Morpurgo 5.9 Goodnight Mr Tom - Michelle Magorian 5.1 AR How did it make you feel? Star Rating Mr Stink - David Walliams 4.7 The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole - Sue Townsend 5.1 AR How did it make you feel? Star Rating Matilda - Roald Dahl 5.0 Northern Lights -
    [Show full text]
  • Where Will Books Take You?
    What We’re Reading UPPER SCHOOL Where will books take you? Kent Denver School | 4000 E. Quincy Ave., Englewood, CO 80113 Table of Contents Upper School Reading Program Statement 5 Upper School Recommendations 6 The Reader’s Bill of Rights 108 3 Thank you to the students, faculty, and staff of Kent Denver School for taking the time to submit the thoughtful recommendations you will find in this guide. Use it to look for adventure, to challenge your mind, to go on a journey. Come get lost in a book. “It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” Oscar Wilde 4 The Upper School Program: The Freedom and Pleasure of Choice Everyone is encouraged to read at least three texts of his or her choice, and the faculty acknowledges an expansive view of what constitutes a text. Books, of course, are texts but consider also newspapers, magazines and blogs. Read anything, as long as you care about it, you enjoy it and it makes you think. Guidance is readily available by reviewing this booklet. When you come back from the summer, the faculty hope you will be rested and recharged. Be prepared to share in advisory and in your classes, your own reading experiences and recommenda- tions. A note to students and parents: Students and faculty have sub- mitted the following Kent Denver recommendations; these titles are suggested as a way of offering choice for students. The titles offer a wide variety of reading interests, levels and content.
    [Show full text]
  • Award Winning Books in the Library Click+Cntrl on Title to Link to Resource A
    Award Winning Books in the Library Click+cntrl on Title to Link to resource A Author Title CK: Awards and honors Subject Adventure and adventurers › Carnegie Medal (1972) Rabbits › Legends and stories Adams, Watership Down Waterstones Books of the Century 1997 Richard Survival › Guardian First Book Award Longlist Ahlberg, Boyhood of Buglar (2007) Thief Allan Bill Guardian Children's Fiction Prize Moral Conscience Longlist (2007) The Black Cauldron Alexander, Newbery Honor (1966) (The Chronicles of Fantasy Lloyd A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (1966) Prydain) Author Title CK: Awards and honors Subject The Book of Three Alexander, A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (1965) (The Chronicles of Fantasy Lloyd Prydain Book 1) A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (1967) Alexander, Castle of Llyr Fantasy Lloyd Princesses › A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (1968) Taran Wanderer (The Alexander, Fairy tales Chronicles of Lloyd Fantasy Prydain) Carnegie Medal Shortlist (2003) Whitbread (Children's Book, 2003) Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Almond, Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 › The Fire-eaters (Fiction, 2004) David Great Britain › History Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Gold Award, 9-11 years category, 2003) Whitbread Shortlist (Children's Book, Adventure and adventurers › Almond, 2000) Heaven Eyes Orphans › David Zilveren Zoen (2002) Runaway children › Carnegie Medal Shortlist (2000) Amateau, Chancey of the SIBA Book Award Nominee courage, Gigi Maury River Perseverance Author Title CK: Awards and honors Subject Angeli, Newbery Medal (1950) Great Britain › Fiction. › Edward III, Marguerite The Door in the Wall Lewis Carroll Shelf Award (1961) 1327-1377 De A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (1950) Physically handicapped › Armstrong, Newbery Honor (2006) Whittington Cats › Alan Newbery Honor (1939) Humorous stories Atwater, Lewis Carroll Shelf Award (1958) Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Richard Adams Watership Down
    Recommended Reading List – Year 6 This list is intended to be a guide to books suitable for children in Year 6. The list, covering a range of genres, is drawn from a number of sources including teachers own recommendations; the National Literacy Strategy’s recommended texts; reading lists suggested by other schools and the National Literacy Trust’s website. Some of the texts are more difficult to read than others and care should be taken when choosing those which your child might enjoy. Please discuss the book your child reads with him/her and remember it is important to keep reading to your child as they move through the school. Richard Adams Watership Down Joan Aiken The James III Sequence The Wolves of Willoughby Chase David Almond Skellig Kit’s Wilderness Neil Arksey Playing on the Edge Linda Aronson Kelp Bernard Ashley Johnny’s Blitz Little Soldier Rapid Sherry Ashworth What’s Your Problem? Joyce Annette Barnes Amistad Junior Novelization Joan Bauer Squashed Nina Bawden Carrie’s War The Outside Child The Real Plato Jones Leslie Beake Song of Be Tom Becker Darkside Gerard Benson This Poem Doesn’t Rhyme James Berry Classic Poems to Read Aloud Malorie Blackman Hacker Noughts and Crosses Thomas Bloor The Memory Prisoner Judy Blume Are you there God? It’s Me, Margaret Martin Booth Music on the Bamboo Radio Tim Bowler River Boy Midget Elinor M Brent-Dyer The Chalet School Series Linda Buckley- Archer Gideon the Cutpurse Melvin Burgess Billy Elliot Junk The Baby and Fly Pie Betsy Byars The Pinballs Cracker Jackson The Midnight Fox The Summer of the Swans Peter Carey The Big Bazoohley Lewis Carroll Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland G K Chesterton The Puffin Father Brown Stories Agatha Christie And then there were none John Christopher The Guardians Ann Coburn Worm Songs Peter Collington The Coming of the Surfman (Picture Book) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Susan Cooper Over Sea.
    [Show full text]
  • Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Group List 2010 to 2020.Xlsx
    Science Fiction & Fantasy Book List 2010-2020 Date discussed Title Author Pub Date Genre Tuesday, August 17, 2010 Eyes of the Overworld Jack Vance 1966 Fantasy Tuesday, September 21, 2010 Boneshaker Cherie Priest 2009 Science Fiction/Steampunk Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Hood (King Raven #1) Steve Lawhead 2006 Fantasy/Historical Fiction Tuesday, November 16, 2010 Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos #1) Dan Simmons 1989 Science Fiction Tuesday, December 21, 2010 Swords and Deviltry (Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser #1) Fritz Leiber 1970 Fantasy/Sword and Sorcery Tuesday, January 18, 2011 Brave New World Aldous Huxley 1931 Science Fiction/Dystopia Tuesday, February 15, 2011 A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) George R.R. Martin 1996 Fantasy Tuesday, March 15, 2011 Hull Zero Three Greg Bear 2010 Science Fiction Tuesday, April 19, 2011 The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1) Scott Lynch 2006 Fantasy Tuesday, May 17, 2011 Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro 2005 Science Fiction/Dystopia Tuesday, June 21, 2011 The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle #1) Patrick Rothfuss 2007 Fantasy Tuesday, July 19, 2011 Old Man's War (Old Man's War, #1) John Scalzi 2005 Science Fiction NO MEETING Tuesday, August 16, 2011 Wednesday, September 07, 2011 Something Wicked This Way Comes (Green Town #2) Ray Bradbury 1962 Fantasy Wednesday, October 05, 2011 Altered Carbon (Takeshi Kovacs #1) Richard Morgan 2002 Science Fiction Wednesday, November 02, 2011 Prospero's Children Jan Siegel 1999 Fantasy Wednesday, December 07, 2011 Replay Ken Grimwood 1986 Science Fiction/Time Travel Wednesday, January 04, 2012 Raising Stony Mayhall Daryl Gregory 2011 Fantasy/Horror/Zombies Wednesday, February 01, 2012 The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress Heinlein, Robert 1966 Science Fiction Wednesday, March 07, 2012 Talion: Revenant Michael A.
    [Show full text]
  • Season Seven: Animal Kingdom
    SEASON SEVEN: ANIMAL KINGDOM The relationships humanity has with the living creatures of our world are as varied as the ones we have with each other. We have fought to keep from being eaten by the predatory, we have nurtured and raised domestics as companions and partners in labor, we have driven some to extinction, we have studied all to increase our understanding of life. Explore the wonders, rewards, and tragedies of the animal kingdom this season. Remember: This is a reference sheet only; check the Season Themes page on GoHavok.com to verify which months are open for submissions and which are closed. PARTNERS & PREDATORS (DEADLINE: November 7, 2021) Animals can be many things to humans: trusted mounts and fellow warriors, comfortable lap pets, sources of food, manual laborers, lie detectors, trained trackers and rescuers, formidable foes, and pernicious garden pests. What emotions do animals provoke in these relationships? Show us! (Publishes in January.) SWIMMERS & SOARERS (DEADLINE: December 5, 2021) There’s something about the blue expanse above that draws the human eye. Treat us to a closer look at flying creatures, their view from above and their eyrie homes. What if humans lived in the crags, riding the giant eagles? Delve into the sea, where life is broad and deep, mysterious, and rich with resources. What if we lived on islands and had trained water creatures who retrieved treasures from the depths? Or what if we lived under the sea ourselves? (Publishes in February.) DISCOVERIES & EXTINCTIONS (DEADLINE: January 3, 2021) There’s nothing like the thrill of discovery and the tragedy of permanent loss.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tolkien Tradition
    Volume 11 Number 1 Article 5 Summer 7-15-1984 The Tolkien Tradition Diana Paxson Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Paxson, Diana (1984) "The Tolkien Tradition," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 11 : No. 1 , Article 5. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol11/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To join the Mythopoeic Society go to: http://www.mythsoc.org/join.htm Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022 http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm Abstract Analyzes what makes a fantasy “in the Tolkien tradition” and applies this definition ot a number of contemporary fantasy authors, including Ursula Le Guin, Richard Adams, Lloyd Alexander, and Stephen R. Donaldson. Additional Keywords Fantasy—Characteristics; Fantasy literature—Influence of J.R.R. olkien;T Tolkien, J.R.R.—Influence on fantasy literature This article is available in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R.
    [Show full text]
  • The Language of the Unconscious in Richard Adams's Watership Down
    The Birth of Self and Society: The Language of the Unconscious in Richard Adams's Watership Down Marc D. Baldwin, Hillsborough Community College In Richard Adams's Watership Down,1 a "family" of rabbits, suddenly and traumatically displaced from their homes by the development of the land, must search the surrounding countryside for a new "warren." In order to survive their democratic pilgrimage from innocence to experience, their mythic search for a brave new world, their initiation into humanhood, so to speak, the rabbits have to learn the signs and signifiers of humanity's world, the discourse of humanity's dealings. As a dynamic organism, the little band of rabbits grows in size and savvy, ultimately surviving through a combination of their innate instincts and the emerging self-knowledge derived from their anthropomorphic authorization. Adams's rabbits symbolize the individuation of the self as it attains actualization through language. This thrilling adventure story of rabbits fighting for their survival corre­ sponds to the dual quest of conscious beings for social and psychic identity within the cosmological scheme of things. During a seemingly peaceful late afternoon sil- flay (feeding), a little psychic rabbit named Rver, upon seeing a sign that a real es­ tate developer posted in the field, envisions the ground soaked with blood and warns Hazel, his older and larger friend, that imminent doom approaches. Al­ though the signpost of man and its attendant horrific visions for Fiver prompt their flight, all those who leave the Sandleford warren are displeased and dis­ placed and ready to leave regardless. A totalitarian state, Sandleford imposes its order and meaning upon everyone there While it may have been designed to pro­ tect them from the dangers of man and elil (predators), the cloistered warren denies them freedom, free will, and the opportunity for self-fulfillment and self-con­ sciousness.
    [Show full text]